Thousands of Catholics in the US might have to get baptized again following the discovery of a priest using the wrong word. He had made an error in blessing for over twenty years.
Baptized again: Priest’s fault found
Thousands of Catholics may have to repeat their baptism after the church made the discovery. Father Andres Arango used “We baptize you” in place of the Vatican-approved “I baptize you”. The error was first noted in 2021, almost 25 years after he started working. “It is not the community that baptizes a person and incorporates them into the Church of Christ; rather, it is Christ, and Christ alone, who presides at all sacraments; therefore, it is Christ who baptizes,” explained Thomas J Olmsted, a bishop of Phoenix.
“Father Arango was using the incorrect words from the beginning of his priesthood until it was brought to the attention of the diocese last summer,” stated Katie Burke. Burke is the diocese spokeswoman. “I do not have an exact number of people baptized between 1995 and 2021, but I believe they number in the thousands,” stated Father Arango. Baptizing is a rite of initiation in the Catholic church. They believe that only those who have finished it will be able to enter heaven following their death.
What next?
According to Burke, Arango quit his job after the discovery and is dedicating all his time to help the ministry and people affected by it. “The diocese is working closely with Father Arango and the parishes at which he was previously assigned to notify. Then make arrangements to baptize anyone who has invalidly,” stated Burke. “It saddens me to learn that I have performed invalid baptisms throughout my ministry as a priest by regularly using an incorrect formula,” explained Arango.
Surprisingly this is not the first mistake of this nature. A priest in Michigan had to repeat their baptism after watching a family video in 2020. The officiant had also used “we” in place of “I”.